FDA requiring lower recommended dose for certain sleep drugs containing zolpidemReminder about risk of impaired activities the morning after use for all insomnia drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it is requiring the manufacturers of Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar and Zolpimist, widely used sleep drugs that contain the active ingredient zolpidem, to lower current recommended doses. Ambien and Ambien CR are also available as generics. New data show that zolpidem blood levels in some patients may be high enough the morning after use to impair activities that require alertness, including driving.

Using lower doses of zolpidem means less of the drug will remain in the blood in the morning hours. Since women eliminate zolpidem from their bodies more slowly than men, the FDA has notified the manufacturers that the recommended dose should be lowered for women and that the labeling should recommend that health care professionals consider a lower dose for men. Data show the risk for next-morning impairment is highest for patients taking the extended-release forms of these drugs. The FDA urges health care professionals to caution all patients (men and women) who use these products about the risks of next-morning impairment for activities that require complete mental alertness, including driving.

You might have heard about today's further expansion of the large fruit recall because of listeria. It's starting to get rather wide.

Here are photos of all the suspected products - most of them are fresh fruits but sold several-to-a-package. They are distributed through BJ''s, Costco, Sam's and Trader Joe's, but actually go to many other stores from there. The production facility has been shut down.

BUMBLE BEE FOODS, LLC ISSUES VOLUNTARY RECALL ON 3 PRODUCTION CODES OF CANNED CHUNK LIGHT TUNA DUE TO POSSIBLE HEALTH RISKSAN DIEGO – March 16, 2016 – Bumble Bee Foods, LLC announced today that it is voluntarily recalling 3 specific UPC codes of canned Chunk Light tuna due to process deviations that occurred in a co-pack facility not owned or operated by Bumble Bee. These deviations were part of the commercial sterilization process and could result in contamination by spoilage organisms or pathogens, which could lead to life-threatening illness if consumed. It is important to note that there have been no reports of illness associated with these products to date. No other production codes or products are affected by this recall.

There are a total of 31,579 cases that are included in the recall which were produced in February 2016 and distributed nationally. The products subject to this recall are marked with a can code that starts with a “T” (example: TOA2BSCAFB) and have the following “best by” dates:

The recall is being initiated out of an abundance of caution due to the possible under-processing of the affected products discovered by the co-packer during its routine quality audit. Bumble Bee is working closely with the co-packer and the FDA to expedite the removal of products from commerce.

Consumers are advised to throw away the recalled product. Consumers looking for more information on reimbursement or whom have questions about the recall may contact Bumble Bee at (888) 820-1947 between the hours of 9am and 6pm EST seven days a week or visit http://www.bumblebee.com/recall-march-2016.

Here's a link to an FDA page about a major product recall of frozen vegetables that is all over the United States and Canada and some in Mexico also. They specifically mentioned Ha rris Tee ter and Trader Joe's and Costco, although there are many others. There is a long list, you can click on each item that sounds familiar to you.